The Wilderness
Matthew 4:1-11
Introduction:
0ur Sunday School lesson got me thinking about the Wilderness. Many find themselves in the wildness of temptation. I believe there are many other kinds of wilderness' we can experience. People have expressed being in the Wilderness of spiritual dryness. Wildernesses of fear, loneliness, anxiety. Etc. We can learn from Jesus' experiences, no matter what kind of Wilderness we are in.
1, Wilderness comes after spiritual highs, revival.
Immediately after the heavens were opened to him, the Spirit descended on him, and he was declared to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world. The following news we hear of him is, he is tempted. The enriched soul must double its guard, for then he is best able to grapple with the temptation.
But sometimes, God's Holy Spirit will lead us to difficult places in life. We must not think that the Lord is always going to put us on easy street.
If the Spirit witnesses to our adoption, that will furnish us with an answer to all the suggestions of the evil
2. Jesus used Scripture when in the Wilderness.
Among Bible readers, the average amount of time spent reading the Bible is less than 7 minutes a day (the Barna Group). And yet, the average person spends almost 5 hours a day watching TV (Communications Industry Forecast & Report)
The Bible is to be spiritual nourishment for our spiritual lives. It is to feed our souls.
It is to be mental rest for troubled minds
It is to be our soul food
It is to be our mental health treatment
The Word of God is to be our medicine and our meditation
Psalm 119:105 says: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
If there ever was a day when Christians need to be in Bible, it's today!!
As he was battling cancer, David Watson wrote, As I spent time chewing over the endless assurances and promises found in the Bible, so my faith in the living God grew stronger and held me safe in His hands. God's word to us, especially His word spoken by His Spirit through the Bible, is the same ingredient that feeds our faith. If we feed our souls regularly on God's word, several times each day, we should become robust spiritually just as we feed on ordinary food several times each day and become robust physically. Nothing is more important than hearing and obeying the word of God.
3. The text says," Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him." Matthew 4:11
In vs. 11, the devil left Jesus, "and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." Jesus needed new strength, and so will we. God the Father provided that strength to Jesus through His angels. And our Heavenly Father will make a way to provide His strength to us!
Paul prayed for it in Ephesians 3:14-16: "For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man."
The hymn says it like this, "Soft as the voice of an angel Breathing a lesson unheard Hope with a gentle persuasion Whispers her comforting word Wait 'til the darkness is over Wait 'til the tempest is done Hope for the sunshine tomorrow After the darkness is gone"
Conclusion:
Warning:
Luke says, "And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season." Luke 4:13
Yet he continued his malice against him, and the devil departed with a resolution to attack him again
If Satan didn't give up on our Lord, don't expect him to give up on us. He will seek to tempt us until the grave or the rapture.
Sources:
Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible
Sermons on sermoncentral.com
Rev. Dave Williams sermon
